ShopRite gives $215K to Veterans Food Pantry

MONROE — ShopRite Supermarkets wrote a $215,000 check to benefit the Orange County’s Veterans Food Pantry.
Brett Wing, president and chief operating officer of ShopRite Supermarkets Inc., and Tom Urtz, vice president of operations, on Jan. 25 presented county Executive Steve Neuhaus with the check at the Town of Monroe Arts and Civic Center, where Neuhaus and Veterans Service Agency Director Christian Farrell hosted two free showings of the movie “12 Strong” for veterans.
“We want to thank ShopRite for working tirelessly to advocate for our veterans,” Neuhaus said. “ShopRite is a dedicated partner and has greatly enhanced the quality of life of these deserving men and women and their families. We are proud to accept this donation, made possible by the generosity of ShopRite’s customers and the hard work of its staff. We look forward to work working with ShopRite for years to come.”
The Orange County Veterans Food Pantry, housed at the ShopRite in Montgomery, makes weekly deliveries to veterans' homes of non-perishable food items and essential household supplies.
This program is open to active duty, surviving family members, National Guard, Reservists, veterans and their spouses. For more information on the Veterans Food Pantry, call the County’s Veterans Service Agency at 291-2470, or visit OrangeCountyGov.com/Veterans.
In 2017, ShopRite raised $925,000 to benefit local veterans’ organizations, and has raised more than $3.9 million since the campaign’s 2009 inception. The 2017 campaign will benefit local veterans’ organizations such as the Committee for the Families of War Veterans, Hudson Valley Honor Flight, and the Orange County Veterans Food Pantry.
“We are proud to present this donation to County Executive Neuhaus to support the Orange County Veterans Food Pantry,” Urtz said during the check presentation. “Giving back to our local communities is extremely important to us and supporting veterans’ organizations in the communities we serve is especially rewarding. County Executive Neuhaus has been an extremely supportive partner and we are thrilled to be able to do the same for him while also helping the men and women who have sacrificed themselves in the defense our freedoms.”
"21 Strong" was screened free for veterans. It tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan immediately after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Orange County Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Alan Mack, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and one of the first pilots to fly into Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, addressed guests before the movie.